Combined bottle closure and order indicating device



y l957 E. MUELBERGER, JR 2,791,846

COMBINED BOTTLE CLOSURE AND ORDER INDICATING DEVICE Filed Aug 27, 1953 IN VEN TOR.

- ATTORNEY.

COINED BGTTLE CLOSURE AND ORDER INDICATING DEVICE Eric Muelberger, .i'r., Navesink, N. .5.

Application August 27, 1953, Serial No. 376,838

3 Claims. (Cl. 40-4) This invention relates to a combined bottle closure and order indicating device and relates more particularly to a novel bottle accessory which may serve as a bottle closure as well and which will indicate to the man servicing the customer the particular requirements of the latter for a given day.

The closure element of the present invention has especial usefulness in the dairy industry wherein the milk and other dairy products are to a large extent delivered to the customers early in the morning or at other times inconvenient for giving orders orally and wherein the customers requirements in addition to the articles normally delivered are usually made known to the delivery man by means of a pencilled note left in an empty bottle which is being returned to the dairy.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved bottle closure which will readily indicate to the delivery man, when replaced in an empty bottle for return, the customers additional order, Whether it be cream, butter, milk or the like, but which will also function as an accounting system for such goods furnished in addition to the standing order, the accounting system benefitting the customer as well as the dairy.

To this end the bottle accessory or closure of the present invention includes a plurality of peripherally arranged interconnected tabs mounted on or forming a part of the main closure element and when one or more of these tabs are stripped from the closure and the closure replaced in an empty bottle for return, the delivery man will readily ascertain from viewing the position of the removed tabs the added requirements of the customer and the customer will accumulate the removed tabs into a convenient receptacle for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the account at the time statements are rendered. 7

Similarly, the delivery man may place the closure with the remaining tabs thereon in a separate envelope file for each customer and at the end of the delivery period he will deliver the envelope file to the accounting office for entering the extra orders against the customers account.

l't was earlier pointed out that the delivery man will ascertain the customers requirements from the position of the missing tab. Alternatively the closure disc, which is disposed below and which supports the tabs, may have the same indicia printed thereon as the tabs and in precisely the same place but in a contrasting color, so that when a tab, for instance for 1 Qt. Milk, is removed the same notation will appear in that area on the closure cap, the printing in contrasting color indicating, in this case, the required additional product or products.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multipurpose cap which can be made at only the slightest increase in cost over conventional caps and thus each bottled dairy product delivered will be fitted with the improved indicating means, to be used by the customer as a conventional seal and then thrown away if nothing extra is required. This is a marked improvement over anet's Patented May 14,

2 other indicating devices which have been experimented with by the dairy industry which readily become lost or mislaid by the customer and cannot be accounted for.

The article of the present invention is particularly useful in the dairy industry in that it is a considerable convenience to the customer as well as to the supplier and it will also stimulate business for the latter since it will erve as a reminder of additional possibly needed items as the dairy bottle is unsealed and rescaled while the contents are being consumed. It also has uses in other industries.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the combined bottle closure and indicating device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of Fig. i.

Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 1, but shows one of the tabs removed.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of the invention.

Fig. 5 is similar to Fig. 4 but shows a number of tabs removed.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 66 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a plan View showing a third form of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a fourth form of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the article shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a broken perspective view showing a fifth form of the invention.

In the first form of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, there is provided a cap it which includes two superimposed layers or discs 11 and 3.2 made from the usual treated paperboard normally used in milk bottle closures. One or both. of the layers has a peripheral tab 13 projecting therefrom to facilitate removal of the cap from the bottle.

There is further provided a third disc 14 having a plurality of radially disposed weakened or die cut lines 15, thus dividing the disc into a plurality of interconnected wedge-shaped tabs 16 and the central section also may be punched out as shown, thus leaving inwardly facing finger engaging tab portion 17.

Each one of the tabs has imprinted thereon appropriate indicia shown at 18 and indicating some desired article such as 1 Qt. Milk. The central section of the lower disc section is imprinted with some notation such as Leave Extra.

The method of fabricating the caps may vary but in general it may be said that the two lower discs 11 and 12 may be adhesively secured together and the third disc 14 may first be imprinted with the indicia thereon and then be subjected to a combined scoring, punching and upsetting operation to form first, the weakened or die cut lines 15, second, the central punching, and third, the bending of the tab portions it? slightly upwardly to enable them to be grasped by the fingers. This latter step, while desirable, is not essential and it may omitted if the upper disc is first printed, then secured to the lower disc with an all over adhesive and the combined closure and indicating device then die-cut to a predetermined depth, i. e., only through the upper disc. In this instance the central portion of the latter will not be removed. Another method would be for the manufacturer of the novel closure and indicating device to work on laminated stock, or stock which has the qualities of lamination, first printing on the upper surface, then in a combined or subsequent step cutting the disc to shape and die-cutting the upper surface to the required depth to form the tabs which may be readily torn off.

in the second form of the invention shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 a single lower disc or closure element 21 is employed and the upper disc 22 is formed with a plurality of weakened or die cut, radially disposed lines 23 extending inwardly from" the outer periphery, and a circular line 24, perforated or die cut, thus dividing the upper disc into a plurality of tabs 25 whose outer marginal edges may constitute arcs of circles, smaller than the disc as a Whole. The central section 26 of the upper disc may be adhesively secured to the lower disc or the adhesive may be omitted and the discs secured together.

merely by a staple 27.

The central section 26 may be die cut along a semicircular line to form a removal tab 28. The imprinting of the upper disc is substantially the same as in the first embodiment and in this instance the lower disc 21 is shown as having the identical printing (Fig. as shown at 29. This printing on the lower disc as previously described is. preferably in a color contrasting with that used on the upper. disc so that when a tab has been removed the delivery man instantly can read what is ordered, whereas in the first embodiment he knows from the position of the removed tab. Instead of printing the exact indicia on the. lower disc it may be desirable to merely print a letter, a number or other code device oneither the lower disc or the upper removable segment. If a letter; number or code device is used printing in a contrasting color will not be necessary.

The embodiments constituting the first two forms of the invention have been described as being formed from two or more discrete layers of paperboard appropriately joined together by adhesive or by staples. It will be understood, of course, that either of these articles may be made from a single, built-up layer of. paperboard of required thickness and the upper section thereof die-cut downwardly a required depth to form the tab sections. Thus the tab can be removed from the lower or base sections as easily as though the article were formed with a plurality of laminations joined together by adhesive. In using this single, built-up layer of paperboard it will be a matter of choice whether any material is removed from the upper section at the time of the die-cutting.

The term weakened line as used herein is relative and in some instances the die-cut may extend to a willcient depth to permit ready removal of the entire segment rather than just the upper section therein. This term is also deemed to include a line which is die-cut completely through the upper section or upper lamina but not necessarily extending the full radial distance. In other words, there must be sufiicient material at some point between the segments to retain the segments as a unit prior to removing one or more thereof.

The third form of the invention shown in Fig. 7 is substantially the same as the firstform except that the tabs 30 have alternate short tab portions 31 and longer tab portions 32 for easier insertion of the finger nail preparatory to removing the tab.

In the fourth form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the uppermost disc 35 having the tabs 36 is secured as by a staple 37 to a closure cap 38 having an annular flange or skirt 39 which encloses the neck section of the bottle and forms a hood. This form of the invention is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 4.

In the final form of the invention of Fig. there is provided a combined seal and hood and the tabs 42,

defined by scored lines 43, are formed integrally with the bottleclosure 44 which has a circular recessed portion 45 and a raised annular rim 46 which engages the bottle top. Thus the tabs are formed as a continuous depending annular flange 47 and again, as in the first form of the invention, the delivery man ascertains the order from the relative position of the missing tab.

In all of the foregoing forms of the present invention except possibly the fourth, shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the closure cap ordinarily will be used to re-seal the bottle as the contents are consumed. Thus an indicator should be readily at hand for ordering any extra goods.

In order to facilitate the use of the present invention it may be desirable for the dairy to use one color of printing for one month or other fiscal accounting period and another color for the following period. in this fashion the customer will collect tabs of one color in a single envelope and when the color changes another repository may be used.

While five forms or embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to five specific applications thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the more details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiments shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments of the invention may be made Without departing from the principles thereof.

What I claim is:

1. A combined closure cap for milk bottles and an order indicator comprising a closure disk for sealing the milk bottle, said closure disk having a plurality of radially disposed tabs secured thereto and normally lying on the surface of said disk, each of said tabs being formed by score lines which extend only partially through the disk and toward the periphery thereof, each tab being individually removable from said closure disk by severing the same from said disk along its score lines, each tab having imprinted on the outer surface thereof indicia indicating an article to be ordered.

2. A combined closure cap for milk bottles and an order indicator as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a substantially centrally-positioned tab for removing the disk'from the bottle.

3. A combined closure cap for milk bottles and an order indicator as set forth in claim 1 further comprising indicia positioned on said disk related to the indicia on said tabs.

References'Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 737,049 Walker Aug. 25, 1903 1,057,296 Takenage Mar. 25, 1913 1,073,071 Hall Sept. 9, 1913 1,828,906 ONeill Oct. 27, 1931 1,888,368 Allen Nov. 22, 1932 2,434,545 Brady Jan. 13, 1948 2,607,504 Sonnenberg Aug. 19, I952 FOREIGN PATENTS 23,896 Norway Oct. 20, 1913 

